EG Group’s billionaire Issa brothers snap up 52 KFC sites
Petrol stations giant EG Group has snapped up over 50 KFC sites across the south of the UK for a not-yet-disclosed sum.
It follows the Issa brother’s acquisition of Asda for £6.8bn last year with private equity group TDR Capital.
The 52-KFC-site deal, with former owner of the sites Amsric Group, involves around 1,600 employees, as well as drive-thru and non-drive-thru sites.
EG Group co-founders and co-CEOs Mohsin and Zuber Issa said the acquisition “is highly complementary to our existing operations and our long-term growth plans for our foodservice business.”
The Issa brothers snagged the largest KFC franchise in the UK and Ireland from The Herbert Group in March last year.
It means the group now operates over 1,700 foodservice concessions and operate more than 220 KFC sites in Europe and the UK.
“The KFC brand has continued to grow in recent years due to its focus on changing customer needs and brand positioning. Even during the pandemic, KFC moved quickly to assess and adapt in order to embrace the rapidly evolving environment,” the Issa’s added.
“We have seen a marked upward trend in the performance of our existing KFC network and this has given us confidence to consider and invest in more assets.
“The network we have acquired is a strong portfolio of assets and we are looking forward to working with the Amsric management team and KFC to ensure a smooth transition for the teams and an effectively managed transfer of operations and assets.”